IRS Has Sent First Round Of COVID-19 Stimulus Payments

Coronavirus stimulus payments to individuals are on their way.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said via Twitter on Saturday (April 11) that it has issued the first stimulus checks to bank accounts and more money will be coming soon, Newsy reported on Monday.

“IRS deposited the first Economic Impact Payments into taxpayers’ bank accounts today,” the agency tweeted. “We know many people are anxious to get their payments; we’ll continue issuing them as fast as we can.” For updates, the IRS directed people to #COVIDreliefIRS or http://irs.gov/coronavirus.

Last month, Congress passed a $2 trillion rescue measure, the largest economic stimulus package in the nation’s history, and the bill was promptly signed by President Donald Trump. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides up to $1,200 for income-eligible individual taxpayers, and $2,400 for married couples, plus $500 per child.

The bill also provides an extension of unemployment benefits by 13 weeks and an additional $600 weekly for four months.

A Treasury Department official told ABC News that the Treasury Department and the IRS have worked “around the clock” to get the payments out.

“During the 2008-2009 financial crisis, it took the government several months before the first stimulus payments were issued to the American people,” the Treasury official said. “This administration has done it in just two weeks.”

Taxpayers who provided the IRS with direct deposit information when they filed their taxes in 2018 or 2019 will receive their money the fastest. Others will have to wait for a paper check, and those checks are expected to be mailed starting in early May, Newsy reported.

“Millions more Economic Impact Payments will be issued via direct deposit in the weeks ahead as we issue payments to social security recipients and as other taxpayers provide banking information on the tools provided,” according to a Treasury statement. “We are working to secure the fast, secure and efficient delivery of payments to veterans, disabled, and other vulnerable populations.”

The money — and the potential for increased consumer demand — can’t come fast enough for SMBs. Our latest survey of small- and medium-sized businesses found that 60 percent either don’t expect to make it through the coronavirus pandemic or aren’t sure if they will.